Ferrari at he 80th Geneva motor show revealed its new hybrid/KERS technology, which it claims will not only make its cars more efficient, but will also markedly improve performance and handling and be standard on everycar in 3 years.
262029262032262035262176
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said: “You don’t often see a green Ferrari on our Geneva stand, but this year there’s a new agenda for us.”
The addition of an electric motor into the drivetrain will also be accompanied by other efficiency measures including engine downsizing and advanced aerodynamic concepts.
Ferrari’s hybrid design is particularly clever because it is notably compact and can be integrated relatively simply into both the company’s front and mid-engined layouts.
The electric motor develops 100bhp and 110lb ft of torque and is backed up by an 80kW battery made up of very slim (20mm thick) cells mounted under the 599’s floor to maintain handling requirements.
Other changes include the electronics control module (mounted in the boot, with cooling pumps) and a small electric motor/generator mounted on the front of the engine. This drives the ancillaries (including the air-con and power steering) when the car is running purely on battery power.
At the moment, however, the system’s electric-only range is estimated to be just three miles. The set-up also includes a stop-start facility, which sees the hybrid motor used to restart the engine.
Ferrari estimates that, even with the extra 100kg of weight resulting from the hybrid installation, drivers will see improved in-gear acceleration, including shaving the 0-124mph sprint time back to just 10.4sec from 11.0sec. The 599’s centre of gravity has not risen; it remains just 489mm off the ground.
The millisecond response time of the motor will also be used for ‘Electronic Torque Shaping’. This introduces torque ‘blips’ from the hybrid electric motor to smooth the petrol engine’s torque delivery, giving the driver a more linear throttle response. Ferrari claims that using the ETC and ETS together will greatly improve acceleration out of corners.
Like this:
Like Loading...